Ebor May 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

How will you and your local community be celebrating the Coronation this coming weekend? Let us hope that the weather is kind for all the planned outdoor activities. I doubt however that they will include many of those depicted in the woodblock pictures we are to see in this month’s lecture!  

May Lecture: Note the change of date - Wednesday 17th May

The daily lives, pastimes and leisure activities of the late Edo period in Japan were depicted in woodblock prints produced in the 1780s – 1850s by these two artists. This evening our guide to some of their works is Suzanne Perrin, an independent researcher and historian with a huge fund of knowledge of Japanese art and culture. She has lectured extensively in the UK and abroad, has organised exhibitions of Japanese arts and crafts and visits Japan regularly as she works on her second book. A treat awaits us!   

We meet in the Shepherd Hall at 6.30pm on Wednesday 17th May. As usual you can enjoy a chat over a glass of wine or soft drink from 6pm before the lecture.

Visits and events:

April was a quieter month for us, with no extra events. However some of us are looking forward to the tour of Art Deco in Lille and Antwerp next week (hence the change of date for the May lecture).

Future Visits:

There are still some places available for our planned visit to Cardiff (4-7 October). This promises to be a very interesting trip, and includes time at Calke Abbey (NT) in Derbyshire on the way back to York. Brochures for the trip will be available at this month’s lecture and are on our website. The booking deadline has been extended. If you have already booked to go and would like to bring a friend then please contact Joanna Heywood (joannaheywoodleeds@yahoo.co.uk)

Social Events:

I hope that you have booked your place at our Summer Party on Friday 23 June from 4-6pm. We will gather at the York Cemetery. With its Grade II* listed chapel – modelled on a Grecian temple – and 24 acres of garden, this site is a gem. In case you missed it last month the flyer for the event is attached. Please contact Sheila Bartlett to reserve a place.

Annual General Meeting:

Our AGM will be held, as usual, immediately before the June lecture. The notice and agenda for the meeting and Committee reports are attached. They are all brief so please have a look at them. The accounts, including the external examiner’s report are also attached. We require two thirds of the membership to be present so I hope that you will come along. The AGM business will take only a few minutes before the lecture begins.

Committee Support:

No apologies for repeating the request for offers of support. Please contact any of the committee members if you might consider joining or would like to know more. Planning for the lecture programme begins many months in advance and Linda Ward would especially welcome help as she looks to find good speakers for 2024/25 – and beyond! It is an interesting role – so do chat to Linda if you think that you could help.

Website:

Copies of the monthly Newsletters, a printable copy of our programme, flyers for trips, photographic accounts of previous visits, membership forms, feedback about the lectures - and much more can be found on our website. Go to  www.theartssocietyebor.org.uk

Membership:

Although we have been pleased to welcome both returning and new members this year, our numbers have not yet recovered from the drop that occurred following the pandemic restrictions.

The viability of The Arts Society Ebor depends on robust membership figures – and the greater our numbers the easier it is for us to keep membership fees to a minimum. Experience show that personal recommendations are the best means of recruiting new members. So spread the word – and bring a guest!

With best wishes from your Arts Society Ebor Committee.